Food Category Manager

Industry: Supply Chain Operations

Company: Daiso

Job Summary

As an industry expert bi-lingual Japanese/English Food Category Manager, you will be responsible for leading, growing and managing a multi-million-dollar revenue Food business within Daiso USA. This role involves the true essence of today’s merchant in strategic planning, decision tree modeling, analysis and execution to ensure the success and profitability of the non-perishable food category. The specific duties include owning and driving top line revenue, margin, turns, and inventory fill-rate. This role also requires understanding APAC Food growth opportunities in a US environment, domestic; overseas supplier relationship management, product assortment and selection, inventory management, sales and promotion, and cross functional collaborations with marketing, stores and supply chain. To perform effectively in this role, one must be able to communicate effectively with US and Japan based stakeholders.

Essential Job Duties

• Conduct thorough market research to analyze current trends, consumer behavior, and competitive landscape in the non-perishable food category.
• Develop and implement auto-ship plans to allocate incoming and existing programs to individual stores based on sales potential.
• Forecast and manage incoming containers and weekly orders, ensuring cost of goods sold (COGS) targets are met and maintaining accurate order files.
• Determine order quantities for new items and promotional initiatives.
• Collaborate with vendors to achieve 95% fill rates and oversee expiration dates at distribution centers and store levels.
• Cultivate and sustain relationships with suppliers, negotiating terms, rebates, and additional promotional opportunities
• Register all new incoming items, including item details, pricing, genre classification, and image specifications.
• Optimize inventory levels to align with customer demand, while monitoring Days on Hand (DOH) and margins.
• Coordinate closely with supply chain and logistics teams to ensure timely and efficient product delivery to two distribution centers.
• Partner with vendors to develop and implement marketing and promotional strategies aimed at boosting sales.
• Perform additional tasks and generate reports as needed.

Required Education, Certifications and Work-Related Experience

• Highschool Diploma or GED required
• Associate or bachelor’s Degree, vocational or technical school degree preferred
• 3-5 years of work-related experience

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Requirements:

• Bilingual – English/Japanese Required
• Evaluate the sales potential of all items based on Daiso’s customer base and sales history
• Efficiently schedule and prioritize daily, weekly, and monthly tasks, including meeting sudden, last-minute deadlines.
• Possess an understanding of warehouse systems and routines, along with knowledge of ordering and shipping lead times from factories and vendors.
• Maintain a basic understanding of store ordering systems, displays, and layouts.
• Demonstrate proficiency in Excel and other Microsoft Suite applications, as well as Google Sheets and Gmail.
• Exhibit strong math skills and an understanding of Excel formulas and pivot tables.
• Collaborate effectively to maintain relationships and work seamlessly with all other departments.
• Adaptability to learn and navigate Daiso’s internal data management systems, including MD, Flexe, Meta frame, Quicksight, Salesforce, Coupa, Smart DB, and BI systems.
• Capable of tracking sell-through daily and monitoring inventory at the store and DC level.

Job Scope

• Decisions may affect a work unit or area within a department. May contribute to the business or operational decisions that affect the department.
• Problems are highly varied, complex, and often non-recurring, requiring novel and creative approaches to resolution. New concepts and approaches may have to be developed.
• Work progress is monitored by the supervisor/manager. Follows precedents and procedures. May set priorities and organize work within general guidelines established by supervisor/manager who is available to solve problems.
• Not responsible for supervising (hiring, firing, performance reviews, or corrective action) others.
• Assist in planning, monitoring, and/or managing budget in the functional area of the department.
• Has frequent contact with others outside of workgroup, both inside and outside DAISO. Results have major implications on the management and operations of an area within a department.